Possible Clues:

• Position of Queen, a piece capturing knight
• Sorting hierarchical positions of soldiers, knight and monarch
• Place among seeds
• Place on ladder had lead in — most important piece
• Stood as candidate over ruler’s position
• Grading
• Position on scale controlled by man in charge
• Putting in a top-to-bottom order
• Published piece that shows where one stands
• Position managed, top job